


Costume Parties and Awkward Smiles

by notquitepunkrock



Series: Pen Pals [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alive Bianca, Alternate Universe - Mortal, Awkward Flirting, Chance Meetings, Children, Costume Parties & Masquerades, First Meetings, Jason is Not Subtle(tm), Listen there are two parts, M/M, Pen Pals, Pre-Slash, and one of them is an epilogue-y thing, but also established relationship, not edited, they're 13 ya'll
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-27
Updated: 2016-05-27
Packaged: 2018-07-10 15:15:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6990712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notquitepunkrock/pseuds/notquitepunkrock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Hades dragged Nico to an accquaintances' costume party (in December, for some godforsaken reason) all the way across the country, the last person he expected to see was Will.</p><p>(Part of my series, can be read separately.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Costume Parties and Awkward Smiles

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this on a whim to relieve finals stress, and didn't edit it or send to my friend/beta-y person, so it's probably terrible. Also it's short. Whoops. Also, I really, really need to see Kayla, Austin, and Will as the Powerpuff Girls/Rowdyruff Boys, okay??
> 
> Only thing you need to know is that Nico and Will are pen pals and this is the first time they're meeting. Also, their fathers both own recording studios. (DOA Recording Studio and Apollo Records, respectively.)

**2013**

Nico shivered a little, pulling his bomber jacket tighter around himself with a small scowl. Bianca nudged his side with her elbow, frowning a little at him.

“Smile, little brother,” she muttered, brown eyes scanning the room with a critical gaze. She smiled gently at a man who was probably in his late thirties, who leered at her in a way that made Nico shift uncomfortably and ball his hands into fists.

“Who even has a costume party in December?” he hissed, frowning as one of the scantily clad waitresses walked past, balancing a tray of pigs-in-a-blanket. “It’s ridiculous.”

Hazel looked up from the book she was reading, shrugging momentarily. “Bigwigs can do stuff like this,” she said a little jealously, pulling at the red and gold tie around her neck. Nico was confused for a moment, until he remembered that just two years before she and her mother had been living in a shack in New Orleans. This sort of party was still novel to her, she hadn’t grown up with it like he and Bianca had.

“It doesn’t matter,” Bianca shrugged, waving over a shirtless waiter with a pair of bear ears in his brown hair and a fake nose on his face. “We’re guests and we can’t embarrass Dad. That’s all we need to worry about at the moment.” With that, she carefully took a bite-size cupcake from the man’s tray and motioned for her younger siblings to take something as well. 

Hazel took one and delicately unwrapped it, popping it into her mouth with a small smile. Nico was more reluctant, but he had to admit that  _ whoever  _ was throwing this party had a really good caterer.

“I just don’t see why  _ we  _ have to be here,” he grumbled, taking a small lick of icing. “I mean, Persephone can dazzle the room and make Dad look good without us around.”

“It’s supposed to be some sort of family thing,” Hazel shrugged, nodding towards the collection of children and teens amongst the crowd of adults, all of whom were dressed in costumes that were probably hand-tailored and cost more than the average person made in a month. “That’s why it’s a costume party, I think.”

“Then why are the waitresses dressed like Playboy bunnies,” he asked, pointing at one girl who was, indeed, wearing what was essentially lingerie with a bunny tail and ears. 

“Nico!” Bianca admonished, though a small smile graced her lips. “First of all, there’s nothing wrong with being a bunny, as long as the girls actually  _ want  _ to be there. Their bodies are their bodies. Second, they are not!” 

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” Nico sighed, crossing his arms and tugging his pilot’s cap further over his ears. “Let me know if you see Jason or someone.” With that, he slouched against the wall, looking far too brooding for someone who was only thirteen. (“And a half!” he would protest, any time Percy or Jason chose to tease him about it. This was often, and he resented his cousins for this reason.) 

The three siblings, stood in the corner in a slightly awkward silence. Hazel turned back to her book, letting her curly hair fall over her shoulder and obscure her face. (When their father had protested her bringing the book to the party, she had made the convincing argument that it was part of her costume. She was Hermione Granger from Harry Potter, after all. It did make sense.) Bianca’s hait covered her own eyes, resting gently on her nose, and Nico thought it was probably a good thing that she had dressed as Violet from the Incredibles, even if she complained often about how tight the suit was. He wondered what his cousins were dressed as, though he did have a few ideas of what they could possibly be.

Jason and Thalia chose that moment to appear from the crowd, spotting the trio and moving towards them. Jason nearly tripped over a train belong to a Bride of Frankenstein, but Thalia steadied him and yanked him along. 

“Nice costumes,” he said, raising his eyebrows at their Superman and Wonder Woman outfits. Thalia scowled, scratching at her wig.

“Hera made us wear them - her and Dad are Cat Woman and the Flash,” she grumbled. She jutted her chin behind her, and Nico could spot his overly large uncle in tights, and his wife in a tight black catsuit. It was a sight he never wanted to see again.

“Why didn’t we do group costumes?” Bianca asked, jealousy in her voice. Nico wrinkled his nose.

“Great idea - we could have all been the Incredibles. Haze could be Jack Jack,” he replied, ruffling his younger sister’s hair. Hazel glared at him and snapped her book shut, ducking away from him with a small frown.

“You’re the one who acts like a baby and blows up every five seconds,” she shrugged. “I would be a cute Dash.”

Bianca hid a smile behind her hair. “Imagine Dad as Mr. Incredible,” she smirked, shuddering a little. “Or worse - Persephone as Elastigirl. I don’t think I’d ever sleep again.” 

All five teenagers shuddered at the mental image of the Dises in tight suits then fell into a brief moment of silence. Hazel opened her book again, determined to continue reading. Jason broke the silence after a few seconds, turning to Nico with a mischievous smile as he raked his hand through his gelled hair. “Hey Neeks, did you know that Apollo Olympus is here?” he said, an odd glint in his blue eyes.

Nico felt his face heating up, but he ignored it in favor of glaring at Jason and scanning the room quickly. “How do you know?” he asked. Had Will told him he was going to be here tonight? He couldn’t seem to remember - and he hadn’t even known  _ he’d  _ be here until two days before. After all, he lived in Los Angeles, and the party was in New York City.

“He stopped Dad at the door,” Jason grinned, sharing a glance with Thalia. “He said  _ all  _ of his kids came with, except the littlest two.” 

Nico snorted, rolling his eyes. Will had a  _ lot  _ of siblings - seven lived with him, but more lived with their mothers or with his mother, or were grown up. He glanced around, wondering if any of the blonde boys wandering around was his older brother, Lee, or any of the redheads might be his younger sister, Kayla. He’d never seen pictures of them, and if he had, he doubted he’d recognize them in their costumes.

“That’s great,” he mumbled, but his stomach flipped at the thought of seeing Will in person for the first time after spending the last five months or so writing back and forth with him. It was ridiculous to be so excited - normally, he wasn’t excited about anything.

Bianca smiled a little behind her hair and pushed away from the wall they were leaning against. She stepped around Nico to Hazel’s side and tapped the short girl on the shoulder, nodding towards their father, who was hovering nearby with a music agent that Nico vaguely recognized and gesturing for them. “Let’s go, Dad needs his ‘perfect little angels.’” Hazel rolled her gold eyes and closed her book, following her sister. Nico could see her beginning to smile shyly as they approached their father, who smiled widely and placed a hand on each of their shoulders.

Jason and Thalia excused themselves as well, heading for the refreshments table. Nico wrapped his arms around his waist, closing his eyes and leaning his head back. It was because of this that he didn’t notice the blonde boy in the blue and black striped shirt approaching him. 

“Nico?”

He jumped at the voice, opening his eyes and widening them when he saw Will standing in front of him. “Will!” he exclaimed, a smile crossing his face before he could stop it.

“Nice costume,” said the taller boy, smiling brightly at him. “I especially like your jacket, it looks so authentic.”

“It is,” Nico said absently, still staring in shock at the boy in front of him. Sure, Jason had  _ said  _ that Apollo and his children would be here, but he didn’t expect it to actually happen.He took in Will’s costume - a blue and black striped sweater, white jeans, and black converse, with his blonde hair parted purposefully down the middle. “I like your… actually, who are you?”

Will smiled awkwardly, playing with the sleeves of his sweater. “Either Boomer from the Rowdyruff boys, or genderbent Bubbles from the Powerpuff Girls. Me, Kayla, and Austin couldn’t decide which one we are.” He blushed a little and then the wide grin was back. “I didn’t know you were gonna be here!”

Nico frowned. “Neither did I - Dad sprung it on us last minute. My sisters are over there,” he pointed to where they were still making small talk with the agent, “helping Dad schmooze with Terpsichore Muse. I think he’s trying to get one of her clients to sign to DOA, I dunno which one though.”

“Not if my dad gets to her first,” Will smirked. He shuffled awkwardly for a moment, then held his arms out for a hug. Nico blushed and wrapped his arms around the older boy quickly, pulling away after only a second. “This has to be the strangest first meeting in the world.”

They suffered through the torture of small talk for only a few moments before Nico dragged Will from the semi-crowded room and out to the garden. He’d only seen the door to it in passing as his family had made their rounds upon arrival, before he and his sisters had made themselves at home in the corner, but fresh air had to be better than the excessive amounts of people in what he had discerned to be the ballroom. (He still had no idea who was throwing this party, but he  _ had  _ been to this particular hotel before on a couple of occasions, so he wasn’t  _ completely  _ lost.)

They passed a girl with long red hair and a bright red bow on the way out, who winked at Will. “That was Kayla,” he explained as they slipped out the door. Nico decided to notice how red his face was.

“She seems nice,” he said politely, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “Bi probably would have ignored us if she was talking to a friend. She does that sometimes, I don’t think it’s to be mean though.”

Will nodded sagely. “From my experience, older siblings do that a lot,” he agreed, and of course, he would know - he had plenty of them. Will and Michael like to ignore me when I tell them I don’t want to practice with them. I dunno why they haven’t figured out that Kayla wants to go to the Olympics one day, so she’ll be a much better competitor. Probably just ignore her ‘cause she’s a girl.”

“That’s stupid,” Nico said reverently, scrunching up his nose. Without so many people around, he didn’t mind being more himself. “My sisters are both incredible, and Annabeth’s the scariest person I’ve ever met. Did I tell you she’s studying overseas this year? I don’t know how she does it, honestly.” 

After that, they fell into an easy conversation, covering everything from how badass their sisters were (and how stupid Michael was, that he didn’t see it) to how their mothers used to sing them to sleep. 

That night, Nico fell asleep on his father’s private jet with his head resting on Bianca’s shoulder as she read beside him. He dreamed of a boy with curly gold hair and an infectious laugh, blue eyes sparkling in the dim lights in the garden, of hugging his best friend for the first time.

* * *

**2030**

Seventeen years later, Maria di Angelo-Solace stares up at her fathers and clings to her little sister, Tessa, with a look of wonderment in her brown eyes.

“Your daddy was a Powerpuff Girl,” Nico informs her, rolling his eyes. “It was adorable.”

“I was a Rowdyruff Boy, excuse you,” Will cuts in, shaking his head. 

Percy and Annabeth’s daughter, Charlie, giggles from where she is sitting beside Maria and sticks her tongue out. She turns to their daughters with a smirk reminiscent of her father, and smiles brightly. “Your Aunt Kayla said that they were the Powerpuff Girls, and your daddy is lying,” she says with a small nod. Will shoots the eight-year-old a glare, but he’s smiling.

He returns to the story, as Nico is too busy laughing to be any help. “Your  papà was a fighter pilot, and he was wearing the jacket that’s hanging in the shadowbox in our living room,” he says, smiling at his husband. “He loved that thing, hardly ever took it off. I think his heart broke a little when he finally outgrew it.”

“I got a new one, didn’t I?” Nico points out, nodding towards the jacket hanging on the hook by the front door. “And a new one after that, and another one after that, and-”

“ _ Anyway, _ ” Maria cuts her father off, tightening her grip on Tessa as the little girl begins to squirm - the story is taking too long and she’s bored and wants to run off and find Charlie’s little sister. “What’d you  _ talk  _ about?” 

Nico smiles fondly, glancing over at the other man. “After we left the ballroom, we talked about anything and everything. If only we’d known then that we would fall head over heels, hm?” 

The three girls giggle and nod. Charlie hauls herself to her feet, picking irritably at her dress. Maria sets Tessa down carefully, and the smaller girl hurries towards the Jackson’s backyard, determined to find her cousins. Charlie takes Maria’s hand and tugs her towards her room, leaving the husbands alone in the sitting room. 

They sit in comfortable silence for a moment, each enjoying the other’s presence, until there’s a crash upstairs. Will curses, jumping to his feet. “We’re the worst babysitters ever,” he mumbles. “I’ll get the older girls, you go find the younger three.” 

Nico nods, getting up as well. “Why Perce and Annabeth decided to have a fourth, I’ll never know,” he says, heading for the kitchen, and then the backyard. “Two is more than enough, and dealing with all five of these ones…” He shakes his head, trailing off and grabbing his jacket before he heads out the door. 

If Will looks hard enough, he could still see the awkward boy in the pilot’s outfit from so many years ago, laughing in a hotel garden with a Powerpuff Boy. Times have changed, but they haven’t. 

**Author's Note:**

> Ages of the kids:  
> Charlotte "Charlie" Jackson - 8  
> Maria di Angelo-Solace - 6  
> Tessa di Angelo-Solace - 4  
> Eleanor Jackson (mentioned, never shown) - 5  
> Luke Jackson (mentioned, never shown) - 5


End file.
